Global Vision

Bavarian Nordic managed to change its financial story in 2022 when its smallpox vaccine, Jynneos, became a critical tool in the global response to the mpox pandemic. CEO Paul Chaplin speaks to In Vivo about what this year holds in store.

More than one year into the conflict, pharma employees in Ukraine have made heroic efforts to maintain existing clinical studies – but what the country’s doctors and CROs really want is for international companies to start opening new trials again.

Belgian mRNA technologies firm Etherna, which is backed by high profile investors including former Bayer CEO Marijn Dekkers and Moderna co-founder Kenneth Chien, has reoriented its business model. Interim CEO Bernard Sagaert tells In Vivo how the firm hopes to deliver superior products for partners in the rapidly expanding RNA space.

After securing US orphan designation for an artificial intelligence-assisted therapeutic, Insilico's co-CEO Feng Ren sits down for a wide-ranging interview in which he discusses why AI drug discovery is more predictable, efficient and cost-effective than the conventional bench-to-bed model. AI's limitations and validations, why the industry should get excited about algorithms, data sets and deep learning are other topics to consider in this fast-growing field. 

Attracting and retaining talent is harder than ever for medtech companies. Changing lifestyles, the expectation that loyalty will be less rewarding than job hopping, and various other economic and social factors have all helped contribute to chronic staffing shortages throughout medtech.

India had a busy deals calendar in 2022, with companies led by Biocon striking large M&A deals while PE activity declined. In Vivo's sister publication Scrip pieced together data for infographics on these deals. A multitude of factors is expected to keep the momentum going in 2023.

Agreement of deals that promise better value for money and enhanced patient access to new treatments has become routine in England, but are they delivering?

The Clinical Trials Regulation finally entered into application on 31 January 2022, replacing the largely national, and sometimes inconsistent, rules created by the Clinical Trials Directive. In this article, law firm Cooley advises on the changes introduced by the CTR and explores ways in which firms can reduce their contractual risks and potential legal liability.

After a comparatively subdued 2022 in terms of M&A and other deal-making, a strengthening currency and interest in new areas such as digital tools and cell and gene therapy might see a rebound in activity this year, which should also see domestic approvals of several potential blockbusters and more support for bioventures.

The worst of COVID-19’s disruption appears to be in the pharma supply chain’s rearview mirror, but logistics stakeholders still have a number of questions to answer and challenges to overcome as they attempt to become future-proof.

Both the US and EU are gradually warming up to medical marijuana, but clunky and inadequate regulation threatens to curtail the growth of a burgeoning industry.

From 2013 to November 2022, Chinese pharma companies as a single sponsor started a total of 35 international Phase III clinical studies for innovative drugs in the US, indicating a continuing push by the biopharma sector in the country to leverage increasing innovation to access this huge and lucrative market. Led by BeiGene, 20 firms have placed their bets on such studies and some are planning similar new moves despite an ongoing downturn in industry funding, this infographic analysis shows.

Notable new entrants moved into the Asia 100 this year, with growth catalyzed by COVID-19 vaccines.

Pent-up trial demand during 2020 plus trial modernization strategies yields bumper performance in 2021 as research priorities revert to pre-pandemic trends.

Syngene’s COO, Mahesh Bhalgat, said the firm is better placed than some peers to serve clients for biologics-based advanced therapies and address the cost element for new modalities like mRNA. He also outlines the research, development and manufacturing services company's capabilities in oligonucleotide-based therapeutics, an area that's seeing growing interest.

Big pharma appears to be resetting operations in India fueling some concerns of waning interest. In Vivo looks at what the realignment means or doesn’t.